


The ground giving out

by Azalea_Scroggs



Series: Whumptober 2020 [2]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Movie scene, train of thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27383476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azalea_Scroggs/pseuds/Azalea_Scroggs
Summary: Day 2: In the hands of the enemy - Pick Who Dies“You would prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system!”Leia's thoughts when given the most horrible choice of her life... which isn't a choice at all.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997206
Kudos: 16





	The ground giving out

“You would prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system!”

Leia froze. She stared at Tarkin, her thoughts running wild in her head.

She couldn't let them destroy Alderaan. _Two billions of inhabitants._ She thought of the stunning mountains, of the art and the animals and the plants that you could only find there, of her parents and her home.

But she couldn't give them Yavin either. The Rebellion was more important. Only they would be able to destroy this station, anyway; Leia wondered if the plans had reached them already, if General Kenobi had received her message...

Or if he was on Alderaan, oblivious to the terrible danger that loomed above their heads.

“I grow tired of asking this, so it will be the last time,” Tarkin said, stepping forward, in her space. Leia jerked back to get away from him, but she hit the cold metal of Vader's armour. “Where is the Rebel base?”

He wasn't even an inch away from her. Cornered against Vader, unable to get any further back, she was trapped between them, a head smaller than the both of them. Tarkin was so close she could smell the overpowering smell of his cologne, feel his breath on her face. It was giving her nausea, or perhaps the situation she found herself in did.

Above his shoulder, through the viewport, she stared at Alderaan, blue and green and beautiful Alderaan, and her throat constricted.

“Dantooine,” she let out in a breath. She hung her head, defeated. “They're on Dantooine.”

They were no Rebels left on Dantooine. No Rebels, only a few locals, nomads wandering on their beautiful steppes.

Nowhere near two billion people, she told herself. It was the truth, but it didn't alleviate the guilt in the pit of her guts at the thought that she'd condemned them.

_We're at war. Heartless decisions need to be made._

And she couldn't bear the thought of her homeworld being destroyed.

A flare of hatred towards the Empire overcame her. They shouldn't have built this station in the first place, it was a monstrosity, an abomination. She couldn't wait for the day it was blown up to smithereens, wished she could be there for it...

“There. You see, Lord Vader, she can be reasonable.”

_Reasonable._ The word left a bad taste in her mouth, all the more because she knew it was the truth. Her decision held up perfectly to rational thinking. It was cold, logical; condemn a world where not many people lived, rather than one of the cultural centres of the galaxy... It was an impossible choice, and she'd made it the best she could.

Nonetheless, she _knew_ the stakes she had in this, and how much her heart was involved, and she felt weak anyway. This felt too much like giving in, like a defeat.

_But what victory can there be in a situation like this?_

“Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready.”

She whipped up her head, suddenly realising it had all been for _nothing_.

“What?!”

She barely registered Tarkin's smug mocking, only heard the terrible order, felt Vader's iron grip restraining her, saw the poison green beam come out of the station and her beloved home blow up before her horrified eyes.

_You're far too trusting._

She had been. She had never had a choice, she realised now. They were only pretending.

Immense hatred swelled in her again, a tide as incandescent as it was powerful, and it must have been reflected in her eyes like the light of her world's explosion.

No matter what it took, no matter what happened, she had no greater desire than to be there to witness as they burnt, too.


End file.
